Saturday, February 29, 2020

Case Study Of Alpaca Clothing Private Limited †Free Samples

The most important factor that decides the fate of the international expansion is the cross cultural communication. Intercultural communication can be defined as the concept of communication styles and approaches that enhances the connection among people across different culture and societal groups. It can be considered as a construct that explores and analyses the effect of culture on communication and interaction. Common variables of intercultural communication includes social attributes, thought patterns, traditional values, principles, and cultural norms associated with different groups of people belonging to different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. It includes interconnected school of thoughts and theories that define intercultural communication and along with different attributes of communication (Chaney and Martin 2013). The concept of intercultural communication also explores the communication barriers that exist between two or more cultural backgrounds and how to overcome t hem. This assignment will utilize multiple domains of intercultural communication in order to explore, analyze, and overcome the communication barrier that exist in between two cultural backgrounds when it comes to a business scenario taking the help of a case study. The case study represents the scenario where clothing company by the name alpaca clothing Private Limited that has entertained a satisfactory sales in retail outlets in Australia This small scale company had had the first opportunity to expand to the Asian territory by the virtue of signing a contract for fibre processing service in China. However the company representative in the Chinese location chosen by the company is an Australian born marketing professional by the name of Jonathan Jones. However despite the expertise and professional competence of Jonathan, he had no basic idea of Chinese culture and has never lived abroad, hence his intercultural understanding was very limited. It has been already mentioned above that in case of cross-cultural business dealings the role of optimal intercultural communication is profound. It has to be mentioned in this context that Jonathan had no better understanding of the Chinese culture and had failed to facilitate effective and successful intercultural communication between the Chinese company site and his Australian counterpart and as a result, a few misunderstanding and negotiation flaws have had already occurred. For reviving the situation well planned and strategic intercultural communication and intervention is required taking help from cultural analysis and intercultural communication theories and core competencies. There are many theories that can be associated with the concept of intercultural communication. And each of the theories has a profound impact on the development of the intercultural communication competencies which are extremely required for any crosscultural representative to do his work properly. In the case study the most important flaw in Jonathan had been the fact that he had never lived outside his own country and had no understanding of how to blend in different cultural backgrounds (Jandt 2017). In order for him to succeed in his position and the present it is very important for him to understand different intercultural theories and develop the core competencies of intercultural communication. According to the theory of intercultural adaptation, the most effective method of intercultural communication is through learned communicative competencies. This theory directs the individual towards understanding the foreign culture and then adapting the communication pattern to blend in.   The next theory is co cultural theory, which defines communication with our interactions among underrepresented individuals (Samovar et al. 2014). This theory directs individuals to be accepting and open minded about the differences between two cultures and exercise equal position between the groups to facilitate optimal and culturally competent interaction. The theory of communication acculturation represents the cross cultural adaptation to be a task that can be accomplished with only collaborative effort between the parties involved. And on the other hand the communication accommodation theory relies on different linguistic strategies to decrease the communicative distance between two cultural backgrounds. Linking the main Idea behind the theories it can be mentioned that intercultural communication competencies can be developed with better understanding of the cultural differences, compassionate acceptance of the cultural differences, honest and strategic adaptation tec hniques, and most importantly collaborative effort between the parties involved (Carbaugh 2013). Now coming to the modern core competencies of intercultural communication the most important factors has to be proficient knowledge about the host cultural background and linguistic characteristics. Along with that communication can never be effective without emphasis on the nonverbal characteristics of the communication. For example traits like tone of voice, posture, communication approach, eye contact, time and space, and gestures account for the most important influencing factors of effective communication (Neuliep 2013).   Core competencies of intercultural communication can never be complete without mentioning key personality traits like flexibility, open-mindedness, empathy, equality, and adaptability in the individual. Hence, Jonathan as a company representative has to develop all these competencies in order to facilitate effective interaction between the both of the countries. In order to entertain effective intercultural interaction between both the countries, Jonathan will also need to have a thorough analysis of the cultural differences between the two countries.   Australia can be considered a very open minded, westernized, and modern society with an individualistic and progressive take to the lifestyle. China on the other hand is very traditional Confucian cultural societies where traditional values and principles are given the most importance over any modernized are progressive change. In order to better understand the cultural dimension differences between both the countries the help of hofstede cultural dimensions analysis can be taken.   Each of the cultural dimension looks at different aspect of culture and its importance effect on the society. On elaboration of the very first dimension, power distance in which Australia scores much lower than China at 36 indicating that the business culture of Australia is not dependent on unequal distributi on of power. Accessible, collaborative, and shared decision making is the main structural components of industrial culture of Australia and communication is informal direct and participative. China on the other hand is a Confucian society is a very high at the score of 80. It's very clearly indicates that the clear stratification of power among the organizational hierarchy and a very formal and respectful. The next dimension is individualism in which China ranks very low at score of 20 indicating a very collectivist culture in the society showcasing a Cooperative and collaborative lifestyle. Whereas Australia at the score of 90 shows a very individualistic and person based society. In the component of uncertainty avoidance Australia has a very intermediate score with no clear indication on whether the societal culture is appreciative of uncertainty or not, and on the other hand China had a much lower score of 30 indicating no acceptance towards uncertainty of change. In case of long term orientation, China has a score of 87 showcasing a very responsible and pragmatic social culture, and in contrast, Australia at 21 shows a normative culture. Indulgence is the next dimension where China scores very low at 21 showing a very restrained and disciplined society and Australia at 71 is an indulgent country with least importance to discipline and restrain (Hofstede Insights 2018). Hence it is clear that there are vast cultural differences between the both countries and inevitably in there are profound impact of the cultural difference on the business dealings and etiquettes of both the countries. For instance China is a Confucian society and the business etiquettes of this country is based on a strong power distance, discipline, and punctuality. Here the business dealings are very formal and everyone is expected to maintain a certain composure during the business interactions (Kleinman and Lin 2012). Formal courtesy and justice is also very important to the business etiquette of China and maintaining the respectful relationship is very important to the business etiquettes of the country. Communication is very formal, pleasantries and greetings are exchanged in a formal yet warm manner and conflict is avoided at all costs. Coming to nonverbal communication, in China, body language and posture is always expected to be formal and attentive that exhibit self contr ol and respectfulness that the country thrives on (Law 2012). Australia on the other hand is a much more organized and open minded country with a straight forward and innovative business mentality. The business hierarchy is open, accessible, and decision making is shared among the different organizational sectors with a warm participative communication statistics. There are not traditional restrictions to nonverbal communication, body language and appearance and the business etiquette is very similar to European cultural characteristics. Organizational hierarchy interacts warmly and regularly with the lower employees and their significant power distance in the Australian business etiquette and is very appreciative of change and innovation (Lantis and Charlton 2011). With such a vast difference between the business culture and societal norm among the both of the countries, defective communication is inevitable. However in order for the company representative to effectively counteract the barriers, identification and analysis of the barriers is very important. The very first barrier among the both of the countries and effective communication among them is the linguistic barrier. Australia is a mainly English language operated country and in China English is not the dominating operational language. Along with that another very common barrier to intercultural communication is the non verbal communication components. It has to be mentioned that China is a very formal and traditional country and Australia is a loud and open country (Casmir 2013). Hence factors that tone of voice, gesture, eye contact, body language, and vocal characteristics have a huge impact on the communication between both countries. Another key issue can be the stereotypic prejud ices among both of the cultures. Cultural competence and knowledge is acquired which is only developed through direct experience which Jonathan lacked terribly. Hence the differences between both cultures might have acted as prejudice refraining him from blending in with the cultural norms of China (Mindess 2014). Informal understanding and personality traits can also serve as communication barriers and cross cultural settings. It has to be understood that Jonathan had a very European and open minded are bringing and while, understanding of societal pleasantries might be very different from what is appreciated and accepted in China. Hence the lack of adaptivity to Chinese culture and basic knowledge about their lifestyle is a great hurdle that affected the communication significantly (Neuliep 2013). According to most of the authors, cultural competence is an acquired quality, and it can only be enhanced through effort and experience. The communication on misconduct among Australia and China in this case study has been facilitated by the lack of knowledge and intercultural competence in the chosen representative. However the culture intercultural communication analysis and cultural difference analysis done about can provide useful Framework based on which recommendation strategies can be devised for Jonathan to follow in order to improve his intercultural communication capabilities and aid to this position better. On a concluding note, it has to be mentioned that International expansion can only be effective when the cross-cultural factors are respected and addressed in an efficient and strategic manner. This case study is a excellent example of the impact lack of strategic planning and actions towards better intercultural interaction between two internationally cooperating business entities can have on the overall productivity and profitability of the business operation. Hence, for any international business dealings a thorough cultural analysis and comparison adjustment is needed before attempting the cross cultural business. Jonathan in this case had been chosen to represent the company in the Chinese society where has he had no idea about the cultural norms of the country or any core competencies of intercultural interaction. However with cultural comparison analysis and strategic action to improve the cultural competence and understanding of foreign culture corporate companies can easily succeed in international expansions. Asante, M.K., Miike, Y. and Yin, J. eds., 2013.  The global intercultural communication reader. Routledge. 2, pp123-150 Carbaugh, D. ed., 2013.  Cultural communication and intercultural contact. Routledge. Pp 185-193 Casmir, F.L. ed., 2013.  Ethics in intercultural and international communication. Routledge. Pp 150-165 Chaney, L. and Martin, J., 2013.  Intercultural business communication. Pearson Higher Ed. Hofstede Insights. (2018).  Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights. [online] Available at: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia,china [Accessed 14 Feb. 2018]. Jandt, F.E., 2017.  An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community. Sage Publications. Pp250-280 Kleinman, A. and Lin, T.Y. eds., 2013.  Normal and abnormal behavior in Chinese culture  (Vol. 2). Springer Science & Business Media.pp123-135 Lantis, J.S. and Charlton, A.A., 2011. Continuity or change? The strategic culture of Australia.  Comparative strategy,  30(4), pp.291-315. Law, W.W., 2012. Educational leadership and culture in China: Dichotomies between Chinese and Anglo-American leadership traditions?.  International Journal of Educational Development,  32(2), pp.273-282. Martin, J.N., 2015. Revisiting intercultural communication competence: Where to go from here.  International Journal of Intercultural Relations,  48, pp.6-8. Mindess, A., 2014.  Reading between the signs: Intercultural communication for sign language interpreters. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. 3, pp. 125-145 Neuliep, J.W., 2017.  Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications. 7. Pp 46-55 Ren, H., 2010.  Neoliberalism and culture in China and Hong Kong: The countdown of time. Routledge. , 3, pp 120-130 Renzaho, A., Green, J., Mellor, D. and Swinburn, B., 2011. Parenting, family functioning and lifestyle in a new culture: the case of African migrants in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.  Child & family social work,  16(2), pp.228-240. Samovar, L.A., Porter, R.E., McDaniel, E.R. and Roy, C.S., 2014.  Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.1, Pp 141-153 vom Brocke, J. and Sinnl, T., 2011. Culture in business process management : a literature review.   Business Process Management Journal,  17(2), pp.357-378.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Long term care Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Long care - Term Paper Example sadena nursing home is one of the largest private nursing homes in Texas, offering excellent long term care services including medications and meals to both patients and their families. Located in Pasadena, within the greater Huston area, Texas, the long term care facility provides 24 hour nursing care services to a wide range of patients including seniors with disabilities and serious illnesses. The environment at the Houston based facility is particularly designed to provide the residents with a comfortable life and make them feel part of the community. Although many patients attending the facility are those requiring long term nursing and medical supervision, Courtyards at Pasadena also offers specialized long term care programs for a wide range of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease. According to Courtyards at Pasadena’s official website (2014), the facility is managed by a for-profit corporation and is part of a multiple nursing home chain and not located in a particular hospital. With 196 beds and close to 125 residents, the registered nurse occupancy rate at Courtyards at Pasadena is above average. The nurses form part of the highly trained team of professionals at the facility who are always ready to provide all sorts of assistance towards developing individualized care plans for the patients in order to achieve the desired care goals. All the professional staff as well as the independent staff and consultants at the organization are highly committed to working with the residents and patients as partners in order to effectively meet their diverse individualized health care, coordination and rehabilitation needs. In addition, as part of its financial considerations, the organization allows its clients to explore available financial options including Medicaid, Medicare, private funding and insurance managed funding among others. However, what make Courtyards at Pasadena nursing home particularly special with regard to the provision of excellent care

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Analysing Amazon Website From The Usability Point Of View Dissertation

Analysing Amazon Website From The Usability Point Of View - Dissertation Example Literature Review 3. Research Methodology and Design 3.1 Tools Employed in Evidence Gathering 3.2 Questionnaires 3.3 Interviews 3.4 Observations 4. Implementation 4.1 Visual Appeal of Amazon 4.2 Homepage of Amazon.com 4.3 Log-in Screen 4.4 Shipping to Multiple Addresses 4.5 Learn Availability of Products 4.6 Product Search and Satisfaction 4.7 Reliability and Uptime 4.8 Product Pages 4.9 Integration with International Websites 4.9.1 Co-Branding with Multiple Retailers 4.9.2 The Help Centre 4.9.3 Usability Support for People with Disabilities 5. Evaluation 5.1 The Suggested Solutions 5.2 Limitations of Suggested Solutions 5.3 Works Comparison 6. Conclusion 6.1 Thesis Overview 6.2 Future Works References Appendices 1. Introduction 1.1 Project Overview As the internet has evolved and more industries saw the potential money that could be earned from this platform, shopping and retail companies were not as well left out. An industry that allows internet users to sit in the comfort of thei r own home and use their personal computers to buy goods was created. Throughout the years, there have been various challenges and opportunities that have confronted this industry that ultimately led to the demise of most of them. One company has stood the test of time throughout the various technological and market changes that have confronted e-commerce. That company is amazon.com. From a modest start as an online retailer, it is now a market leader in online retailing. In this project, attention is being paid to the in-depth analysis of amazon.com as an online retail giant, with the primary focus being on the usability of the website from the perspective of the user. This is achieved by analysing existing literature on amazon.com and the conducting of surveys on sample users of the...Limiting factors that affect the usability of amazon.com will be discussed and recommendations made according to the opinions generated from cross-section of the website’s users. As the intern et has evolved and more industries saw the potential money that could be earned from this platform, shopping and retail companies were not as well left out. An industry that allows internet users to sit in the comfort of their own home and use their personal computers to buy goods was created. Throughout the years, there have been various challenges and opportunities that have confronted this industry that ultimately led to the demise of most of them. One company has stood the test of time throughout the various technological and market changes that have confronted e-commerce. That company is amazon.com. From a modest start as an online retailer, it is now a market leader in online retailing. In this project, attention is being paid to the in-depth analysis of amazon.com as an online retail giant, with the primary focus being on the usability of the website from the perspective of the user. This is achieved by analysing existing literature on amazon.com and the conducting of surveys on sample users of the website. Upon these conclusions will be drawn the site’s usability, the challenges that face it and recommendations made on the way forward.